


A Lovely Night

by PentacleArtist



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Dialogue Heavy, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Rare Pairings, Sarcasm, School Dances, Secret Crush, Slushies, Snacks & Snack Food, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:07:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29906391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PentacleArtist/pseuds/PentacleArtist
Summary: Dib and Zita ditch a school dance and get to know each other.
Relationships: Dib/Zita (Invader Zim)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	A Lovely Night

**Author's Note:**

> I think this ship is neat and should have more content than literally one piece of fanart on tumblr.

The school system had a bright idea to try and help students get along: randomly assigned dance dates. 

The dance would be that Saturday with mandatory attendance. They thought a dance would be more fun for the students and it would be less awkward than something like assigned lunch seating.

Dib wasn't paying much attention initially, but keeping an ear out for his name. He was fine with almost anybody since it would be more or less the same experience. After they got in their mandatory minutes, the other person would ditch him and he'd go home. The exception would be Zim, who'd ruin the night.

"And Dib, your date is…" the teacher scanned the list.

The entire class tensed up as the teacher said that. Nobody wanted to be his date, except maybe Gretchen, but she was paired off with Melvin at the beginning. 

"Zita!" the teacher finally finished.

"No!" Zita exclaimed while everyone else sighed in relief. A couple nearby kids gave Zita some comforting pats and words of reassurance.

"You can ditch him when you get there."

"Maybe you can switch."

The teacher ran through the rest of the names before wrapping up, "And remember, attendance  _ with _ your date is _ mandatory _ ."

Class was dismissed for the day and people were already talking about what they were going to wear and their thoughts on their dates. The facts of it being a mandatory high school dance with assigned dates didn't kill the usual buzz. 

_ A dance is a dance, _ Dib thought as he plugged in his headphones.

Dib and Zita didn't talk about the dance until Friday. Zita took a seat at Dib and Gaz's table.

"Can I help you?" Dib inquired.

"Look, we both know there's no getting out of the dance," Zita started. "I've tried. So we might as well make it less painful."

"Okay, shoot," Dib was open to suggestions on making his 30 minutes of attendance quick and painless.

"For starters, I'm giving you my phone number and I expect you to delete it after the dance." Zita handed over a slip of paper.

"I definitely will, don't worry." Dib liked Zita as much as she liked him, which was not at all.

"We're going to meet at the school; I don't want you near my house."

"We live on the same street but okay."

"And don't wear the trench coat," Zita added.

Dib sighed. " _ Fine. _ I wasn't going to be there for very long anyways. Anything else?"

"I think the rest goes without saying," Zita stated.

"In that case I'll see you there," Dib finished.

Zita silently got up and went to her usual table.

"Did she actually give you her number?" Gaz was incredulous.

"One way to find out," Dib pulled out his phone.

_ Is this Zita? _

_ Yeah weirdo _

"Apparently she did," Dib concluded.

"Weird."

Zita finished her makeup and looked in the mirror one last time before heading down. She had on an ice blue dress with a knee length skirt and some green accents along with ballet flats. She took the steps two at a time. 

Her dad was waiting at the door with her hoodie and his car keys. He was going to drive her to the school and a friend would take her home.

"You look great, sweetie!" He handed over her hoodie.

"Thanks, Dad!" Zita gave him a hug in response.

They went out into the cool night and got into the car. Tonight was going to be fine. Maybe even fun! Zita decided to not let her crazy assigned date ruin her night and will make the best of a bad situation.

She pulled her phone out her pocket and sent him a text:  _ On my way. _

Dib wasn't used to dressing up; he generally wore the same thing daily: a graphic tee, a pair of jeans, red sneakers and his trenchcoat. He still had nice clothes but it felt weird. The pants and jacket felt stiff from lack of use while his other clothes were comfortably worn.

He still wore his sneakers though; there’s no point in putting on nice shoes for a school dance he didn't care about. His phone buzzed while he was getting his hair under control, a text from Zita.

_ On my way _

He should probably get going. He took a glance in the mirror. He actually didn't look too bad. Just tired.

He calmly walked down the stairs, he wasn't in a rush. Gaz was playing games on the couch with the TV turned off.

"I'm heading out; I'll be back in a couple hours tops," Dib stated.

Gaz didn't respond, she was probably in the zone or something.

Dib got to his car and sent a text before starting the engine.

_ I'll be there soon. _

He was late. 

Dib sent the text 30 minutes ago and Zita knew it usually only took 15 minutes to get to the school from their street. Maybe 20 if traffic was bad.

Zita saw a car pull into the parking lot and decided to watch since she didn't have anything better to do. The saw the rear lights turn off and her phone buzzed.

_ I'm here. _

Zita let out a frustrated huff:  _ I'm waiting. _

Dib got out of his car and his height allowed him to get to the school entrance in a few seconds.

"You're late," Zita said flatly.

"Yeah, and?" Dib responded. 

Zita sighed. Asking him why he was late would be pointless. "Whatever, let's head in."

The pop music could be heard from the hallway. Dib would have brought earplugs if he planned on staying.

"Names?" the tired teacher outside the gym requested.

"Dib."

"Zita."

The teacher marked her paper. "Enjoy the dance."

Dib opened the door and let Zita go in first, following in soon after. The gym was decorated with balloons, streamers and confetti in every color from the party store. Dib looked for the snack table; he had time for some punch and store-bought desserts.

"Have fun with your friends," Dib absently said before making a beeline for the other side of the gym.

Zita isn't surprised Dib went for the snack table. It was kind of annoying he held the door open only to ditch her in less than 30 seconds though. At least it made things easy. All she had to worry about now was finding her friends.

She scanned the walls and perimeter of the dancefloor. Nothing. Eventually she spotted Sally and Chunk, kind of dancing.

"Hey, Sally!" Zita called over the blaring music and made her way over.

"Oh, hey, Zita!" Sally responded at equal volume, seemingly surprised.

"Where is everybody?" Zita asked.

"I think they went to a table?" Sally responded.

"I didn't see them!" Zita stated.

"Try looking again!" Sally suggested.

"Okay! Thank you!"

"You're welcome!"

"Enjoy your night!" Zita made her way off the dance floor. If the music was any louder her ears would be ringing.

She soon spotted Jessica and Ally at a table with their dates. She probably did miss them the first time; it’s easy to miss stuff when you're in a hurry.

"Hi Jessica, hi Ally!" Zita greeted at only a slightly loud volume, being farther away from the speakers.

"Zita! You actually showed up!" Jessica exclaimed.

"Yeah of course I did." Zita took a seat. "It's mandatory."

"Still, I'd rather get in trouble than be seen with that lunatic," the other girl remarked, followed by her and Ally's laughing.

"Where is he anyways? Or did he leave already?" Ally inquired.

"Probably still at the snack table. I haven't bothered to check," Zita answered.

"Dang, I really wanted some cupcakes," Ally sighed.

"You can still go over there. It's not toxic," Zita stated.

"I don't want to be anywhere near Dib right now," Ally explained.

"Or  _ ever _ " Jessica added, followed by more of their laughter.

"I could go get something for you. I've already been in his proximity tonight," Zita offered.

"It's fine, we can wait. We were actually about to do something anyway." Jessica sipped some punch.

"Like, here at the dance or are you sneaking out?" Zita asked.

"Technically here." Both Jessica and Ally gave their dates a certain look.

"Oh!" Zita's eyes widened. "I'm going to get some punch."

Her two friends only nodded in response. Zita thought she should find something else to do for a while. She'll think about it over the punch.

As her cup filled, she felt kind of silly. Why  _ wouldn't _ her friends want to spend time with their dates? They got people who are  _ cool _ . Not the local crazy person who blew the city's power on a monthly basis.

Zita let out a defeated sigh and took a seat on the bleachers.

_ I appear to have achieved invisibility _ , Dib thought as Zita sat next to him, seemingly oblivious to his presence.

She seemed upset. Should he say something? He could probably leave but…

"What happened?" Dib bluntly asked.

"JESUS- How long have you been there?" Zita almost fell on the floor.

Dib blinked in surprise. He usually freaked people out but not this much.

"The whole time, more or less," he had a confused tone.

"Oh, I didn't see you…" she trailed off.

Dib shrugged in response. "So, what's wrong?"

"Why do you care?" Zita gave him a weird look.

"I was trying to be polite." He was beginning to regret his decision.

"You can be polite?"

"Ouch, that's a new one," Dib said sarcastically. "You could've said you didn't want to talk about it."

"No, I do."

"Just not with me, got it."

"Well you're the only one nobody would talk to, I guess," she sighed.

"That's true."

"Alright, the gist is my friends are more focused on their dates and I feel stupid for thinking otherwise."

Dib paused. It was some friend issues. He does  _ not _ have the experience to give good advice, so he said the only thing that came to mind.

"You aren't stupid. You're the second smartest person in the class."

Now it was time for Zita to get sarcastic, "Who's the smartest? You?"

"Considering I'm the only one who knows that Zim is an alien," Dib responded.

"For the umpteenth time! He just has a skin condition!" Zita said in a jokingly exasperated tone.

"I have a medical history that would say otherwise," Dib stated matter of factly.

"Oh really?" Zita was incredulous.

"Mostly scars," Dib answered nonchalantly.

They sat in silence for a few moments. Dib checked his phone.

"I'm gonna go," Dib started. "Do you need a ride home?"

What the frick just came out of his mouth?

"That might be kind of nice, actually. I don't feel like asking my friends about it."

What is going on?

"Alright, follow me." He seemed to remain calm.

Why was he heading toward the emergency door?

"Dib, the alarm will go off," Zita cautioned.

"It's been broken for years, relax," he explained and opened the door.

There was silence.

Holy hell he was right about something.

They were immediately hit with the cool night air. Dib walked fast towards his car. By the time Zita caught up he had swapped his dress jacket for his usual trench coat.

Dib wasn't going to be wearing a stiff jacket when he didn't have to. He glanced at Zita who seemed to be slightly catching her breath. 

"You can get in," he said, oblivious.

"Yeah, sure." Zita opened the passenger door.

Dib got into the driver's seat and started the car.

"Actually, can we not go straight home?" she asked. "My parents will get worried if I come in this early."

Dib paused before answering, "Sure. Where to?"

Zita wasn't actually sure where to go. She usually wasn't out at this time, at least not without friends. She didn't know what was open.

Dib sighed, "Are you hungry?"

"A little, I guess," she shrugged.

Dib put the car in reverse and they left the school parking lot.

She wasn't sure what she was expecting but Dib pulled into a 24/7 convenience store.

"A convenience store?"

"Yep. Come on, princess."

_ What? _ Zita thought as she got out of the car.

There was a buzz of fluorescent lights from the ceiling. The person at the counter was a teenage girl flipping through a magazine, who only acknowledged them with a quick glance. The tiles were a little sticky.

"Do they clean the floors?" she whispered.

"I think the stickiness is built in," Dib answered. 

Dib seemed to know exactly where he was going. Zita decided to break off and do some looking around herself. She grabbed a bag of potato chips before getting a text from Dib.

_ D: Do you want a slushie? _

_ Z: Sure _

_ D: What flavor? _

_ Z: Surprise me _

Zita decided to get a thing of fudge stripes before heading back up front.

Dib looked at the flavors. He already filled up a large cup of blackberry for himself. Watermelon was only good when you hadn't slept for 3 days and your cells were slowly dying, which left cherry and blue cotton candy.

Cherry got sickenly sweet after half a cup so blue cotton candy would be best. He grabbed a medium cup since Zita probably didn't have slushies that often. On his way to the register he grabbed some snacks for himself.

Zita actually got to the register before Dib. He soon came out of an aisle with two slushies, chocolate cupcakes, white chocolate dipped pretzels and a tube of pringles.

"Dib. What the heck?"

"What?" Dib asked as he put the unholy amount of sugar on the counter.

"Nothing." This was actually the most normal thing she's seen him do.

Dib took Zita to a park a couple blocks away and they took a seat on a well-lit bench.

Zita took a sip of her slushie. "What flavor is this?"

"Don't drink many slushies do you, Princess?" Dib jabbed.

"I usually have better things to do than hang around 24 hour convenience stores; and why are you calling me princess?" Zita retorted.

"Don't they have slushy machines at the mall or wherever you hang out after school?" Dib took a big sip.

"You didn't tell me what flavor it is." Zita opened the bag of chips with ease.

"Blue cotton candy." Dib's tone indicated that it should've been obvious, prompting an eye roll from Zita. "And being a paranormal investigator is a full time job."

"You mean being a conspiracy nut is a full time job," Zita said matter of factly.

Dib glared and took a bite out of one of his cupcakes.

"Seriously though, why are you suddenly calling me 'Princess'?" she pressed.

Dib sighed, "You are popular and objectively pretty." He turned his head and saw Zita make one heck of an expression, "What did I do this time?"

"Do you have a crush on me?!" she exclaimed.

"Are you sure  _ I'm _ the crazy one?" Dib replied.

"Are you serious?"

Dib held out the bag of pretzels, "Why is this freaking you out so much?"

"For starters, I thought you were gay???" Zita almost spilled her slushie and grabbed a few pretzels.

"First of all, no, I’m not. I’m bi,” Dib replied calmly. “I guess I’ll never live down the lunchroom incident, will I? Second of all, I don’t have a crush on you."

"The crazy kid confessed a crush during lunch; of  _ course _ you won't live it down," Zita answered.

"You guys are worse than Zim sometimes," Dib stated. "He dropped it after a week!"

"Back to the original statement!" Zita changed subjects. "I'm not that popular."

"Pretty sure you are," Dib assured.

"I'm not even going to  _ try _ and discuss high school politics with you," Zita sighed.

"Perk of being an absolute outcast, I guess," Dib joked.

Zita finished her chips. "Must be  _ so _ easy for you."

"Oh yeah. My presence making everyone's ears bleed is a total breeze." Dib rolled his eyes. "Pringle? I might've grabbed too much food."

"No shit, did you expect to eat it all yourself?"

Dib shrugged. "It's not impossible."

Zita sighed, "I need to calm down, we're putting up with each other to relax."

"If I knew the ‘Princess’ remark would've gotten you this wound up… I would've still used it," Dib shrugged.

"You're awful."

"Your point?"

"I already said it," she responded.

Dib thought for a minute. The Princess nickname was a bit of a compliment. What was Zita even talking about? Of course she's popular. She always survived the trials of the worthy; she was the only person Ms. Bitters liked and everyone respected her.

"Why did the nickname even wind you up?" Dib asked; he was curious.

Zita let out a frustrated sigh, "It wasn't that. I... actually kinda like it." She ended with a barely audible whisper.

"What was it then?" Dib didn't hear the last part.

"I'm not sure. I guess because you made it sound like it's so easy to be seen as kind of cool, though out loud that sounds ridiculous," Zita attempted.

"How would it be hard?" Dib was clearly confused.

"You have no idea how easy it'd be to sink down to outcast level." Zita rolled her eyes. "You've always been there."

"My lips are sealed," Dib stated. "And all you'd have to do is slip in some believable lies. Our classmates are idiots."

Zita smirked, "Why don't you do it then?"

"I have something called integrity."

"And no shame."

"That too."

Zita decided to continue. "I mean I like being cool. I'm just being myself and it works; but sometimes it's a bit stressful."

"I think I get it," Dib tried to add. "Except being the cl- son of the world's most famous scientist just makes things worse."

"I always forget that you're Professor Membrane's son," she said. "What's that like?"

"Eh, it’s mainly just getting berated for not looking into 'real science'," Dib started.

Zita nodded, "Makes sense."

Dib continued, "Family dinner is an annual event."

"Wait, what?"

"He's really busy. He does visit home regularly, though." Dib shrugged and stirred his drink.

"I honestly thought your family was as weird as you," Zita explained.

"Perspective or something." Dib took a big sip before grabbing his head. "Brainfreeze!"

"Let's change the subject. What's your favorite TV show?" Zita waved her hand.

"Mysterious Mysteries. I've even been on a couple episodes!" Dib's eyes lit up like a child's as he said this.

"I've only seen it one time after I got my wisdom teeth out," Zita explained. "I remember it sounding like it was written by stoners but that could've been the meds."

"Yeah, the older episodes are better. I'll admit that much," Dib chuckled.

"I like Drama High," Zita answered her question. "It's very stupid but it's addicting."

"I'll keep it in mind for when I get  _ my _ wisdom teeth out."

This made Zita laugh, "Maybe it'll seem like a masterpiece!"

"I'll let you know," Dib joined in the laughter.

"Yeah, keep my number; now I'm curious," Zita caught her breath.

"Speaking of which, when do you need to be home?" Dib inquired.

"Not for a while. We can sit here for a bit longer," Zita answered.

"Let me know when we need to go. My curfew is nonexistent," Dib stated.

"You actually aren't as crazy as I thought. You are definitely crazy, just not 'send you to the crazy house for boys' kind of crazy," Zita stared into her half empty cup. "Sorry about that by the way."

"It's fine, after everything that happened that Halloween getting committed is nothing," Dib brushed it off.

"What are you talking about?" Zita turned to look at him. "All I know is Zim's dog went crazy."

Dib seemed uncomfortable or maybe surprised, "Gir is always like that. And I kinda went to a nightmare realm in my head and only escaped with Zim's help."

"So you two  _ can _ get along!" Zita grinned.

"For self-serving purposes," Dib added.

"Can I have the other cupcake?" Zita pointed at the remaining snack.

"Yeah sure," Dib handed over the wrapped cupcake.

"Thanks," there was a slight static shock when she politely took it.

"You zapped me!" Dib yelled dramatically.

"Or you zapped me," she jokingly accused.

"This coat is too thin to conduct electricity on a  _ wood bench _ ," Dib explained.

"You really need a new one," Zita observed before taking a bite.

"No I don't," Dib stubbornly answered.

"You've been wearing that since we were, what. Eleven?" she continued.

"And it still fits!"

"Those elbows are  _ this _ close to ripping," Zita held up a minuscule space between her fingertips. "And we'll go when I finish the cupcake."

Dib crossed his arms and didn't say anything.

They were silent before getting back into Dib's car. It wasn't awkward though; it was comfortable.

"Do you even know where to get a new coat?" she broke the peace. 

"I'm too busy saving earth to go shopping," Dib remained calm.

"I'm sure earth won't get 'destroyed' in a couple hours. All you wear aside from your coat is graphic tees and jeans; you could use an update," Zita elaborated.

"I guarantee I would just get more graphic tees."

"You really don't care, do you?"

"What gave it away?" Dib was back to comfortable sarcasm.

"You don't even try to hide your eye bags," Zita answered.

"I thought it was the messy hair," Dib retorted.

"Nah, that's what everyone is doing these days."

"Huh."

Dib pulled up in front of Zita's house.

"Believe it or not, I actually had fun," Zita admitted.

Dib blinked in surprise. "I uh. I did too. See you at school."

Zita opened her door. "I meant what I said about keeping my number." Then stepped out and went up to her door.

Dib went back down the street and parked in his own driveway. Upon entering, he saw Gaz was still gaming. Though now she had pizza.

"There's 2 slices left,” Gaz said as she continued to destroy enemies on the TV screen.

"No thanks."

Gaz glanced in his direction. "You're in a good mood."

"I actually had fun."

"No way. You hate dances."

"Who said I was at the dance?"

Gaz shrugged and didn't press for details, returning her focus back to the game she was playing. Dib sat down on the couch next to her and felt a buzz in his pocket.

_ Zita: I'll take you shopping _

Gaz snickered at the shade of pink her brother turned.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally there was going to be a whole nighttime adventure but I thought just a long conversation over snacks from a convenience store would be better.


End file.
